Made in Queensland

The Made in Queensland (MIQ) Program complements the Queensland Government’s Advanced Manufacturing 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan.

In November 2017, the Queensland Government announced the doubling of funding for the MIQ Program, taking the allocation to a total of $40 million for the state-wide program, administered by the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning (the department).

The MIQ Program provides grant funding to support Queensland’s small to medium enterprises (SME) in the traditional manufacturing sector to become more internationally competitive and adopt innovative processes and technologies. The MIQ Program is aimed at supporting existing jobs and creating new jobs in Queensland manufacturing businesses and in the state’s supply chains, and growing Queensland’s economy.

Advanced manufacturing involves a holistic approach to the way a manufacturing business operates, with a high level of technology and expertise applied throughout every step of the value chain.

Advanced manufacturing is a family of activities that:

• depend on the use and coordination of information, automation, computation, software, sensing, and networking, and/or
• makes use of cutting edge materials and emerging capabilities enabled by the physical and biological sciences, for example nanotechnology, chemistry, and biology.

Funding is available for projects that align with the strategic direction of your business and the objectives of the MIQ program. Eligible projects fall into one of the following three project types:

• innovative non-equipment (processes and technologies) projects;
• leading edge, advanced manufacturing equipment projects;
• a combination of essential inter-related innovative non-equipment and leading edge, advanced manufacturing equipment projects.

No. A leading edge advanced manufacturing equipment project does not involve the replacement, duplication or upgrades of existing tools or machinery. It also does not involve the purchase of equipment to bring a process in line with existing industry practice in Australia.

Advanced manufacturing projects are industry-leading when the product or technology is superior to or more advanced than rival products and technologies. Leading edge refers to the highest level of general development of a device, technique or specific field at a particular time. It also refers to the latest and most sophisticated or advanced stage of a technology.

Check the MIQ Round 2 Program Guidelines for all eligibility criteria. Briefly the applicant must be a manufacturing business in Queensland and:

• employ between 5 and 200 full time equivalent employees
• have a current ABN and be registered for the Goods and Services Tax
• conduct manufacturing activities defined under Division C of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)
• have a clearly defined project that delivers leading-edge, advanced manufacturing equipment or innovative processes and technologies for manufacturing
• demonstrate the project delivers benefits to the business and Queensland’s economy

Your manufacturing activities must be conducted in Queensland.

You are eligible to apply for the program if you have already received Queensland Government grant funding (including MIQ) for an unrelated project.

Applicant proposing to utilise other government grant funding as part of their co funding should be aware that this would not score highly against the assessment criteria.

Yes, however one business is required to identify as the lead applicant.

Applications for the Expression of Interest (EOI) stage close at 5.00pm on Thursday 24 May 2018. Late applications will not be accepted.

Late applications will not be accepted.

You must include the following attachments in your EOI application:

• Project cost breakdown, to be submitted using the spreadsheet provided on the MIQ website.
• A Gantt chart or similar schedule showing the project key deliverables and timeframes.
• For applicants set up under a corporate trust, a current trust deed (and any variations) and corporate governance structure.

You should read the Guide to Completing an MIQ Application – Expression of Interest which is available on the MIQ website.

You may also contact your local DSDMIP regional office or the Made In Queensland team on 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Read the Program Guidelines for applicants.

You may also contact your local DSDMIP regional office or the Made In Queensland team on 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As this program is round based, all applications will be assessed together, the department is not able to provide status updates until decisions are finalised.

Shortlisted applicants are expected to be announced in July 2018. If your EOI is shortlisted, you will need to submit a detailed application in August 2018.

Successful applicants for MIQ funding will be advised of grant outcomes in late 2018 . The program timeframes are included in Program Guidelines.

No. However you must advise the department of any changes which are likely to impact on your eligibility.

The department will only accept one application per business, or related entity (i.e. parent or sister-company), for MIQ Round 2.

Yes. If you have previously received an MIQ grant, you can apply for funding of a new project. The total value of all grants received by any one business, or related entity, must not exceed $2.5 million.

If your project is a follow up stage of a previously funded project, you must have fully acquitted your obligations of the previously funded project under the Funding Agreement.

Grants are available from $50,000 to $2.5 million in matched funding.

Successful applicants will be required to execute a Funding Agreement with the department that outlines the terms of the grant and the milestones to be achieved.

Approved applicants are able to claim 20% of grant funding up front. All subsequent claims for payment will be paid in arrears based on actual expenditure.

The department also has the option to retain an agreed percentage from all payments in some circumstances, with this retention released 12 months after completion of the project and additional evidence provided to the department.

You will be required to provide your estimated project milestones and payment claim schedule as part of the Detailed Application stage. These will be negotiated and agreed between you and the department, prior to signing the Funding Agreement.

The initial payment (20% of grant amount) will be paid (within 30 days) following receipt of a valid tax invoice.

Milestone payments will be paid within 30 days of the department receiving and verifying:

• A milestone report
• A valid tax invoice
• Evidence of payments made

Yes. All applicants must be registered for GST and while the grant amount excludes GST, the grant payments will have GST added to payments.

No. In-kind costs and non-cash contributions are not considered eligible for matched funding requirements.

You can source contributions internally or through credit. However, chattel mortgage, lease to purchase, equipment funding or other arrangements where a financial institution holds security over the equipment are NOT eligible. You will be required to provide evidence of any credit funding in the Detailed Application stage.

Applicant proposing to utilise other government grant funding as part of their co funding should be aware that this would not score highly against the assessment criteria.

No. Only activities which commence after the agreed project commencement date can be included in the project budget.

No. Your project must not commence, and no expenditure (including deposits or similar) can be paid before the grant is approved and a Funding Agreement is signed.

Your progress reports are included in your milestone reports. The schedule of these will be agreed with you as part of the Funding Agreement negotiations.

A template of the progress claim report, and other applicant reports, is included in the template for the Funding Agreement on the MIQ website.

No, the applicant will be bound by the terms and conditions, which form part of the application and Program Guidelines.

Please ensure you have read and accept the terms and conditions prior to submitting an application for funding, as they will not be negotiable at the time a funding offer is made.

Yes. You will initially be asked to keep the details of your grant confidential until it is announced officially by the Queensland Government.

Applicants should note that broad details of successful proposals, agreed outcomes, progress and the level of funding awarded may be published by the Queensland Government. Some information may be used to promote funded projects and applicants may be requested to contribute to case studies and/or other promotional material.